County of Deggendorf

Welcome to the County of Deggendorf

The county of Deggendorf is divided into two completely different geographical regions: to the left of the Danube River there is the Bavarian Forest, which is made up of crystalline basement; right of the Danube River there is the Gäuboden, which is mainly made up of loess and has been formed by different ice ages. Just like the landscape consists of two different parts, the history of the areas' settlement is different as well.

Whilst the hunter-gatherers started to build their camps on the fringes of the Bavarian Forest in the Old Stone Age, the first tillers and stock farmers settled in the Gäuboden as early as in the New Stone Age.

Under the Agilolfingers in the 6th century, an era of Christianization and cultivation of vast parts of the Bohemian Forest, which was then known as North Forest, began. An important part in this process played the foundation of the two Benedictine monasteries Niederalteich and Metten in the 8th century.

The area of Deggendorf with its ideal location on the Danube River was open for cultural as well as economic input at an early point in history. This is why the county of Deggendorf is now a holiday destination for the young and old, with a plethora of cultural and natural highlights, as well as an attractive business location.

The „spine“ of the county with a size of 861.14 km² is made up of the towns of Deggendorf, Plattling, Osterhofen as well as the market towns of Hengersberg, Metten, Schöllnach and Winzer. Together with another 19 communities, they are home to 117 593 inhabitants (as of 30.06.2005).

The largest north-south length of the county is 39.380 km; the largest east-west width is 38.170 km; the highest elevation is the Einödriegel in the community of Grafling with 1,120 m; the lowest point is the Einöde Lenau (Lenau solitude) in the community of Künzing with 303 m. The Danube River runs through the county on a stretch of 36km, the Isar River measures 19.4 km from the county’s border to where it meets the Danube River.